Tales of the Coyote
by DragonChild157
Summary: A collection of one shots for the die hard Damon Cliff Runner fans. In this I visit scenes that didn't make the final cut or, if you guys pm me with questions, I might illustrate the answers to those here. I never would've thought this character would be so popular, so thanks guys! 1st: Damon meet's Naomi!
1. Can I Keep It?

I know I said I would have this up last night...you have to understand, our church is hosting a dance troupe from Nicaragua (Capitol on the Edge), and my mom and I are feeding them. That's a grand total of 14 teenage boys plus two girls and the troupe leader! So, yeah...

This is set right after the end of 'Seeds of Evil'.

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ENJOY!

* * *

Damon flinched.

"Come on, it's not _that _hard…" he chastised himself. "You just put the needle in and…" He hissed in pain and stopped again.

Then again, maybe it _was _that hard.

He'd been sitting here in front of the filthy mirror in this dank, dirty old bathroom for a good five minutes, and he only had seven of the required stitches in the gash across his ribs to show for it. The awkward angle wasn't helping either.

He tried again, working to keep his brain numb as he desperately attempted to repress the memories of the fight. Memories of his father lunging at him with a knife, maniacal cackle ringing off the walls and down the hallways of the little house.

His mind shied away from those memories like a skittish horse.

**_You know, avoiding them won't really help in the long run. _**Mini Me's voice was dryer than the Sahara.

"If that's what get's me through the night, so be it." Damon answered, wincing as he laid in another stitch. To himself he added, "Gotta get my mind off the pain. Shoot, um…. Come on, happy thoughts, happy thoughts, happy thoughts…."

**_You gonna fly away to Neverland? _**

Damon ignored him. Though his eyes were watching his hands lay in one stitch after another, his mind was focused elsewhere. Memories played across his mind's eye. His childhood with Mamaw. His friends Danae and Joseph. Joking with Robin in his cell in the Bat Cave. Playing with Bud and Lou.

It seemed like his stitches were done in no time at all.

**_Wow…that was actually a lot more effective than I thought it would be. _**Mini Me murmured.

Damon smiled. "See? I know what I'm doing." He looked the rest of his injuries over. Compared to his rib gash, the rest of his injures were pretty minor. Well, minor in the fact that he thought he could get away with leaving the stitches out at any rate.

He reached for the bottle of peroxide.

Mamaw would always swear by her own remedies, but she would grudgingly extol the virtues of peroxide. She always claimed that if you were stuck and couldn't look to the land for healing, peroxide was the next best thing. So that was how it went. One wound at a time, peroxiding the wound then wrapping it with bandages from the first aid kit.

"Good thing mother made sure I memorized the list of addresses." He muttered, looking around at his surroundings. He was in an abandoned subway station bathroom.

Or rather, he was in what would've been a subway station.

The city had started to build a subway system, but had abandoned the project when Wayne Industries had offered to build their elevated train. So there were a few abandoned stations hidden beneath the streets of Gotham. Stations without tracks or tunnels. Joker held sway over at least two of these, and had converted one into a hideout. He hadn't quite decided what he was going to do with the other one.

Damon was packing the leftovers back into the first aid kit when he suddenly froze.

**_What? _**Mini Me asked, voice tense. **_Did you hear something? _**

"No." Damon quickly rose. "I just remembered someplace I should've been yesterday."

Tucking the kit back into its hiding place behind the wall tiles, he hurriedly left the hideout. It had taken him a full day and a good chunk of his evening to limp his sorry carcass from the suburbs back into the heart of Gotham to this hideout. Now that he wasn't bleeding his life away from every cut, he was confident he could make much better time.

**_Would you _****please****_ care to explain what the heck's got you worked up? _**Mini Me yelled.

Damon chuckled. "That's gotta be so weird for you. You're literally _inside_ my mind and half the time you have absolutely no idea what's going on."

**_It's like riding in an airplane that has a mind of its own. _**Mini Me groused. **_You can see what's going on inside and outside the plane, and you can see some of the maps it's using, but you have no idea which way it's going to turn. _**

Damon laughed, amused by the little voice's description of him. "Well I hope you enjoy the ride." He paused, realizing there was a homeless person sitting against the alley wall ahead of him. And the scrappy looking man was staring at him. "What are you looking at?"

The man quickly looked away, mumbling to himself about steam engines and water balloons. Damon carefully edged past him, trying to look as nonchalant about it as he could. As he walked away, he could still hear that man muttering on to himself about peanuts and popsicles.

"Wonder what his problem is…" Damon murmured, once he was sure he was out of hearing range. He darted a glance at his surroundings. Until he found the supplies he needed to disguise his rather..._unique_... appearance, he was taking a huge risk moving around Gotham like this.

**_Well think, moron. _**

"What?"

**_You're walking around Gotham, head tucked down and muttering to yourself. Your skin is bleach white and your hair's about the color of that nasty moss you find in the sewers. _**

Damon rolled his eyes. "Gee thanks…"

Mini Me wasn't going to be sidetracked. **_My point being, he's probably ticked at you. But he's leaving you alone. _**

"Why?"

**_Because you're totally stealing his act and combining it with the Joker's act. He'd come and pound on you, but really why bother when the Joker's totally gonna come get ya as soon as he finds out? _**

Damon sighed. "You're a real ray of sunshine you know that?"

**_What? It's not my job to blow sunshine up your…" _**

"Hey!"

To Damon's surprise, Mini Me actually paused. Fixing his eyes on a group of schoolchildren getting on a bus across the street, Damon smirked and quoted one of his favorite Disney lines.

"Pumba! Not in front of the kids…"

* * *

**_So, we're basically here because your mother supposedly hid some type of present here for you?" _**

Damon ignored the disparaging tones of the voice in his head. Retrieving the key from its hiding place he quickly and covertly let himself in. "As a matter of fact we are." He answered once the door was safely locked behind him.

**_And exactly how are we supposed to find it?_**

Looking around at the apartment, he found himself wondering the exact same thing. The apartment was devoid of people, but it was fully furnished. He made a face. He wasn't anywhere close to an interior decorator, but even he could tell that the furniture was tacky.

"She wouldn't have put it right out in the open." He made his way farther into the apartment, heading for what looked like the guestroom. "There's always the off chance that Pops could walk in, and I'm not sure she wanted him to know about this till after the fact."

**_Until after the fact? What on earth could she have…? _**Mini Me's voice trailed off as Damon opened a large closet in the back of the guestroom. **_…oh. _**

A small pen had been erected on the floor of the closet, newspapers spread all across the bottom. Judging by the smell, they hadn't been changed in several days.

Something small and dark stirred near the back of the pen, and the Indian boy clicked on the light.

He could almost picture Mini Me backpedalling, plastering himself up against the back of Damon's skull. **_Oh no! Oh no! No! No! NO! We are not keeping it!_**

Sitting there in the bottom of the plastic play pen was a very small black puppy, blinking up at them with curious black button eyes. It slowly got to unsteady feet and toddled closer on stumpy little legs, short squat tail giving the tiniest of wags.

Damon smiled, reaching in a hand for it to sniff and Mini Me about had a conniption fit. **_No means no means NO! _**He squalled. **_We are not saddling ourselves with some stupid little mutt!_**

Damon snorted. "What's all this 'we' business? I'm the one calling the shots." He gave a soft warm laugh as the little pup nibbled at the tip of his finger. "Hey lil fella. Bet you're probably pretty hungry huh?"

He carefully lifted the pup out, cradling it close to his chest. Exploring the apartment, it didn't take him long to find milk replacer formula for the pup and, true to form for his forgetful mother, a series of hastily jotted notes on how to care for the puppy. He carefully read over the instructions for the pup's formula, noting that it had been measured out carefully to last to a certain date. He was to start weaning the pup before that date. He had several weeks till then though, so he was good for now.

He quickly whipped up a bottle and fed the ravenous pup.

**_Lookit how much that thing eats! _**Mini Me complained, trying to dissuade him. **_And it's appetite is only gonna keep growing! What happens when you wean that thing off onto solid food? What happens when it gets big and you can't even feed yourself, let alone that little brute! _**

Damon rolled his eyes. "I'll teach it to hunt with me once it's old enough to learn. It could actually be a big help… And what makes you think it's gonna get big?"

**_Because that's just our luck._**

Damon laughed. "That would be our luck." He agreed, tucking the empty bottle into his pocket. Turning the black pup over, he added, "Let's take a quick peek under the hood, shall we?" deftly pulling the little beast's tail out of the way, he checked it's gender.

**_So am I going to be giving you cigars with the blue or pink ribbon 'Papa'?_** Mini Me commented sarcastically.

"Blue." Damon answered, smirking at the idea of Mini Me face palming.

He had no idea what the little voice in his head would look like, if it looked like anything. Right now he had the semi clear mental image of some sort of cartoonish looking character.

**_You sure Dr. Dolittle? _**

"Positive."

Mini Me's voice sounded decidedly smug when he answered. **_Only fools are positive..._**

* * *

No, I did not make a mistake. Yes, I am aware Naomi is a girl. No, I'm not suddenly possessed of an urge to change her to male in all three stories. Yes, it will be explained in the next installment. You see, in my research for this series on hyenas, I came across a fun and little known fact. I am now choosing to exploit this fact for my own entertainment!

Review! Or Mini Me will be displeased! **_I'm already displeased you halfwit! Between easily amused writers and my own personal idiot...halfwit...I'll have to remember that one..._**

Until next time...


	2. It's A Boy- isn't it?

God, I've been away awhile! I am so sorry guys, this hiatus was unintentional I swear. I'll be endeavoring to get back on the ball this week.

Kmack (nah, I see these as little stories that build on each other.)

Shizuka Taiyou (wish granted!)

Evening Raven (Here ya go!)

Molly Grace 16 (never had trouble with cats, but there's been more than one dog I've had doubts on. You'll understand Damon's confusion though...)

SUPER SIZED COOKIES TO ALL TO APOLOGISE FOR MY LATENESS! (::)

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ENJOY!

* * *

"I'm back!" Damon called.

He toed the door shut behind him, as was his habit. He couldn't say where he might have picked up that little habit, seeing as how he couldn't think of anyone he knew who did that. He balanced the cardboard box on his hip, leaning over to flip the light switch up. The generator grumbled a little and the bulb overhead flickered a couple times. Damon frowned. He stomped over to a wood slat box that housed his generator and pounded on it twice in quick succession with his free hand. The generator inside grumbled again, and this time the bulb stayed on.

**_And once again we have proven the theory that hitting technology makes it work._**

Damon rolled his eyes. **_Hilarious. _**

He set his box of supplies down on the rickety old table. They were hidden away in an old shack in the woods a little ways outside of Gotham City. The city itself was within a decent walking distance, but he was isolated enough to feel safe. All alone in the woods.

The wilderness provided for most of his needs and the pup's, and what little he couldn't do for himself he could find in the city. Damon pursed his lips, rooting around in the cardboard box. Eventually he wanted to find or make himself a sort of den in Gotham's city limits, probably more than one. The better to execute his plans of putting on a costume again, this time as a force for good.

**_Because we all know _****that's ****_a fantastic idea… _**

Damon shrugged. **_Meh, blow it out your ear. _**

**_Technically I can't blow it out my ear, seeing as how I'm a figment of your imagination… I could blow it out _****your****_ ear if you like. _**

**_…I think I'll pass. Hooray for technicalities, right? _**He leaned on the edge of the box and it tore under the weight of his elbow. He made a face. "I hate these things." He grumbled to himself, emptying the raw supplies out of the broken box. "Cardboard boxes are utterly useless out in the woods."

**_Just be glad it didn't rain._** **_The box would've torn under the weight of those cans once it got soggy enough._**

Damon groaned. "God, that's the last thing I need." A thought suddenly struck him and he froze. The shack was utterly silent. "…oh _that_ is not good…"

**_What? What do you hear? _**

"Nothing. And that's the problem." He checked under the table, then turned to survey the rest of the one room shack. "Alright you little nibbler, where are you?" There was no response.

There were only three other pieces of furniture in the house, if they could even be called that. A cot, built into the wall along one side of the shack, with a blanket hanging off the edge. A small cupboard doing double duty as a night table and storage for provisions. And a bucket currently pulling duty as a stool next to the small fireplace. Only the cot and the bucket were really viable as hiding places, seeing as how there was only an inch of space under the cupboard, and there was a fire in the hearth.

"Nadeem?" he called.

**_And _****who****_, if I may be so bold as to ask, is Nadeem? _**Mini Me snarked.

"If you have to ask then clearly you've been out to lunch for a while." Damon muttered. He checked under the bucket just to be safe. "Nadeem is the pup's name. I picked it just two days ago."

**_…why?_**

"Why did I pick the name Nadeem?" Damon crouched to check under the cot, flipping the blanket up and out of the way. "For the meaning. Nadeem means 'friend'."

**_God, could you get any more cheesy? _**

Damon groaned, letting his forehead rest on the floor for a moment. "Great. There's a loose board back underneath there. Nadeem's been out and about in the forest for who knows how long."

**_Good riddance. _**

"You're heartless."

**_Thank you. _**

Damon hurried from the shack, his eyes sweeping the surrounding clearing for any sign of the small spotted pup. During the past several weeks, Nadeem's coat had faded from coal black to the spotted tan of a hyena. His fore legs had grown longer, his tail was beginning to take on a feathered look, and he was beginning to get his mane. Damon had no idea where his mother had contrived to find a hyena pup, but he couldn't bring himself to be anything other than grateful.

"Nadeem?" he called again.

A pitiful whine came from somewhere off to his right. Damon hurried after it, calling Nadeem's name in an attempt to keep him whining back. It didn't take him long to find the hyena pup.

Little Nadeem had apparently tumbled headlong down the steep bank of a pond and down into the water. The little creature was up to his chest in the cloudy water, and he looked absolutely miserable. His ears pricked up at the sight of Damon up on the bank and he whimpered pleadingly at him.

"Don't worry fella, I'll get you up out of there." Damon reassured.

He scrambled down the bank and crouched by the edge of the creek, just long enough to roll up his sleeves. He quickly discovered that Nadeem hadn't stayed in the water out of choice. He'd somehow gotten his hindquarters wedged into a tangle of submerged branches. He was stuck but good.

Damon shook his head. "I can't turn my back on you for a minute." He hauled Nadeem out of the water branches and all and drew his deer horn knife. "Now sit still. The last thing I need is a punctured puppy."

**_Nice alliteration. _**

"Thanks."

He carefully cut the tangle of sticks, twigs, and moss off his pup, and pulled Nadeem up into his lap. To his horror, Nadeem gave a pained squeal. He carefully checked the hyena over, and aside from a couple cuts he couldn't seem to find anything wrong. But every time he touched Nadeem's ribs the pup squealed as if he'd been struck. He carefully cradled Nadeem in his arms and made his way back up the steep bank to the shack.

"Easy Nadeem." He murmured soothingly. "Everything's going to be alright. I'll bank the fire and we'll head into town to get you to a vet. Okay?" Nadeem's only response was a whimper and a half hearted little wag of his tail.

**_And where exactly do you expect to find a vet who knows how to treat a fracking _****hyena****_? Those aren't exactly run of the mill! In fact I believe the veterinary community would refer to them as _****exotics****_! _**

Damon chuckled, a grim, devilish smile touching his lips. "I know hyenas are 'exotics' Mini Me. And mother taught me what to do if Bud and Lou ever got hurt." He cuddled Nadeem closer as he entered the shack. "It seems the son of the Joker must make another appearance, for Nadeem's sake if nothing else…"

**_Are you kidding?! After all the effort of staying hidden, you're going to throw it away for some pathetic little pup who was too stupid for his own good?" _**

Damon nodded. "I would. I…" his eye landed on a strip of black leather on the rickety old table. "…hmm… maybe I won't have to…"

* * *

"Dang it Jack! Where's the bloody emergency? I had to duck out on my little girl's birthday party for this and…" The irate blonde trailed off as he finally registered what his eyes were seeing.

The colleague who had called him was bound hand and foot to one of the chairs. A strip of duct tape was fastened over his mouth, and he pitied poor Jack for having a beard. Sitting confidently on an examination table was a rather strange individual.

Then again, this was Gotham, the blonde thought grimly. Strange people weren't all that much of an oddity here.

The stranger appeared to be young, probably a teenager. His coal black hair was about shoulder length. His skin a deep tan. His clothes were ordinary jeans and a t-shirt that had seen better days. But despite their worn and ragged state, they were clean and well cared for. His shoes looked to be homemade, but well crafted, looking almost like moccasins. Some rational corner of the vet's mind informed him that that type of moccasin was called a 'cactus kicker'. A deer horn knife hung off his belt, and a leather mask designed to look like some form of canine covered the upper half of his face.

"Hello Doctor Taylor. We've been waiting …well, I won't say patiently, as that would be lying. This _is_ an emergency." A smile traced the strangers lips, but it never seemed to reach his blue grey eyes.

Dr. Aaron Taylor scowled at the boy. "I don't know who you are young man, but if the appointment's for yourself I'm not that kind of doctor. I'd recommend Gotham General."

The stranger's smile widened. "You may call me 'Coyote' doctor. And as for the appointment, it's not for me. I've got a pup I'd like you to have a look at."

Dr. Taylor raised an eyebrow. "You had to break into a zoo to have your pup looked at? What's the matter with an ordinary veterinary practice? Either I or my colleague would've been happy to recommend an accomplished local practice for you."

That coaxed a laugh out of this mysterious Coyote. He shook his head and rose from his seat on the table. "No, I don't think they'd know what to do with my freckled little lad…" Behind him on the table lay a spotted pup, wrapped in what looked like some sort of brown animal fur. Dr. Taylor's eyes widened as he recognized the block shaped head, powerful shoulders, sloping back, and spotted pelt of a hyena.

Unconscious of his actions, the vet moved closer to the table. "Where on earth did you get a hyena pup?"

"Would you believe I found him?"

Dr. Taylor gave him a look. "If I were anywhere other than Gotham I'd have answered 'no' in a heartbeat…" He lightly stroked the pup. "What seems to be the problem? You did say this was an emergency... And would you _please _untie my colleague?"

"Only if you absolutely need him. I'd rather not risk having to contend with the two of you." Coyote answered. He moved closer, a tender look on his face as he unwrapped the pup a little further. "As for the emergency, he took a tumble down a steep bank and ended up in a creek. I pulled him out, and he seemed alright, but every time I touch his ribs here…" Coyote applied a slight pressure and the pup gave a shrill cry. He gave the vet a forlorn look. "I don't have much cash, it probably wouldn't be even a fifth of what your services would be worth…"

Taylor arched an eyebrow. "You're offering to pay me now?"

Coyote gave him an irritated look. "I'm not some two bit hoodlum who gets what he needs or wants with a gun. I can't hope to pay you what I will owe, especially up front! But I'll give you what I can."

Taylor continued to check the pup over, but he cast a pointed glance at Jack, still tied to his chair. "Could've fooled me."

Coyote sighed, lightly fondling the pup's ear. "Believe what you like doctor. If it wasn't for my little friend here, I wouldn't have come into town at all. I'm not a vet, much less one who deals in exotics, and I won't make him suffer for my ignorance."

Dr. Taylor sighed. "I suspect broken ribs, but I can't be sure without x-rays. Will you permit them?"

Coyote nodded without hesitation. "Do whatever you must."

Taylor moved to pick the pup up, then thought better of it. "Here, roll up the blanket into handles on either side of him. We'll have to treat him gently until we know the full extent of his injures…What's his name?"

"Nadeem."

It took a little longer than usual to get the x-rays done, seeing as how they had to avoid being seen. But despite that, Taylor found himself surprised and impressed by the calmness of the pup. There was a level of compliance and implicit trust there that Taylor had seen only very rarely between trainers and their charges here at the zoo, and even less frequently outside of it. While Nadeem might growl at him, occasionally even snap at him if he poked or prodded too roughly, all it took was a slight caress or softly spoken word from his strange master and Nadeem would immediately settle down again.

"Well," he said at length once they were back in the examination room, with poor Jack _still_ tied to his chair. "You'll be happy to know it wasn't as bad as it could've been. Nadeem's ribs have several green stem fractures. Painful, but not life threatening so long as he takes it easy till they've healed."

Coyote nodded. "How do I care for those?"

Taylor found himself liking this strange teen more and more. Especially since the boy had specified that _he_ would be caring for the pup personally. He wasn't going to shirk off the care of his pet on someone else.

"Really, the best thing to do would be to keep him quiet as much as you can until he's healed. He can walk about as he pleases, which won't be much at first I guarantee you, but try to keep the long walks to a minimum of nil."

Coyote nodded. "I can manage that much." He agreed. "Thank you for your help doctor. I really appreciate…"

Dr. Taylor held up a finger. "One other thing. I take it you don't know that much about hyenas, do you?" Coyote shook his head. The vet chuckled. "Well then, I feel it my duty to inform you that Nadeem is a _female_."

Those unique blue grey eyes widened behind the mask. Coyote frowned and gently lifted one of Nadeem's hind legs to display clearly male anatomy. "Umm… I may not know much about hyena's, but I was pretty sure _that_ was a universal indication of gender."

Taylor laughed. "And normally you'd be right." He pointed between the confused Nadeem's legs. "_That _is a fake. No one's really sure why hyena females have them. We call it a pseudo penis. It looks real, act's real, _isn't_ real."

Coyote frowned. "How do you know?" he asked, his tone clearly stating that he was of half a mind to accuse the vet of pulling his leg.

"Well, no scrotum for a start." Dr. Taylor answered. "For a second: she's awfully large for her age, also indicating female, and a dominant one at that! And for a third, the zoo I worked at before I came here had several hyenas, and being able to tell who is what is part of the job description." He finished dryly.

"Hmm…" Coyote lightly fondled Nadeem's ears. "Looks like you got a few secrets up your sleeve yet…" he murmured. The hyena gave a self satisfied yip in response, as if she had understood. He laughed and looked to the vet. "Is there any chance you could be mistaken?"

Taylor shrugged. "There's always slight room for doubt in young pups, but I feel pretty confident in my assessment of her. I'd be willing to lay money on it. You've got a healthy young dominant female there. If you've got any doubt, you'll know beyond doubt in a few months when she hits her first heat."

Coyote nodded. He picked up an odd looking frame pack from the floor next to his feet and set it on the table. From it, he drew several rolls about a foot long and ranging a few inches in diameter, along with a small leather pouch. Wordlessly, he slid the pouch across the table.

"That's all the cash I have to my name at the moment, and I know it's not much. I did a supply run earlier today, and that whittled it down somewhat." He carefully settled his whimpering pup into the empty pack. The sound of her nails scrabbling on wood made it clear the bottom was solid. He motioned to the rolls. "The pelts should help make up the balance. The raccoons and possums won't be worth as much, but you should get top price for the rabbits and the three mink. Leo's shop over on Elmore street 'll treat you fairly."

Dr. Taylor chuckled, the sheer absurdity of this visit and the method of payment making the whole situation seem surreal. "Thanks for the advice. I'll keep that in mind."

Coyote shouldered his pack full of hyena, carefully arranging the straps so as to avoid jostling Nadeem. "I'm definitely going to be doing some reading, but is there anything else I need to know right off the bat?"

Taylor shrugged. "The only thing I can see you having any trouble with straight off is the dominance issue. Hyena's are matriarchal. That means the females run the show. You're little girl there is the boss lady, and she won't take crap from anyone. She'll tear a strip out of any dog that tries to put her in what he thinks is her place, especially as she grows and matures. If you intend to take her anywhere you might encounter dogs, you'll need to work with her on that. You don't want her running off after the next dog who's fool enough to look at her wrong."

Coyote nodded. "Thank you sir. I'll stop by your place in about a week or two. In case what I gave you didn't quite cover it… tell your colleague I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

Taylor frowned. "Why not tell him yourself?"

"He fell asleep in his chair."

The vet looked back, startled to discover the teen was right. "Well I'll be… Hey! I didn't tell you where I lived, how on earth will you find my place?" he asked, whipping around to face the departing teen once more. He wasn't sure he _wanted_ this teen near his place or his family. The boy had been civil and amiable, but then again he'd wanted something from him. But still, he'd been better about it than certain _other_ visitors who'd brought in hyenas to be cared for. His animal was calm and well behaved, and he'd _paid_ for services rendered!

Those blue grey eyes sparkled with mirth behind the mask. "…the Coyote has his ways sir, and he always settles his debts. I'll find you…"

Somehow, Dr. Aaron Taylor had no doubt that the Coyote would.

* * *

Damon glanced up and down the street with a cautious eye. It wouldn't due to get careless now. And he definitely couldn't risk a fight with little Nadeem sitting in his pack, injured.

He frowned. He was going to have to come up with a new name for the pup.

**_Why? _**

Damon rolled his eyes, and not for the first time, he wondered if the little voice in his head could see his eyes rolling from the inside. **_Because Nadeem is a _****boy's****_ name. _**

**_I wouldn't have known from the sound of it. _**Mini Me sniped back. **_What's it matter? No one will ever know. _**

**_I would… _**Damon glanced back over his shoulder at the pack that held his only other companion. Aside from the voice in his head that is. "What should I name you dear heart?" She wriggled in response to his voice, but remained silent.

Damon pondered it as he walked, blue grey eyes scanning the streets and alleyways. What should he name her? Well, to answer that question, a better question would be 'how could he describe her'? Spots, obviously, but how else? She was smart. Sharp as a tack in point of fact! And she was loyal. She was loving, perceptive… She brightened his life. Damon smiled. He had once compared Batman to a dark night, and Robin to the light in that darkness. His life and personality would never warrant him being compared to a dark night. He preferred to think of himself as the twilight just before dawn. The sky was a light grey, devoid of any color. But there, just at the lip of the horizon was just a faint touch of pale gold. The slightest hint of hope for something better. He knew his life would've been a lot more lonesome without her.

He stopped dead in his tracks as a name suddenly took form in his mind.

She was his happiness!

**_Well, that's an incredibly dorky name…_**

Damon grinned. **_No, that's the _****meaning ****_of the name!_** He crouched and slid the pack off his shoulders. "That's your name dear heart!" he told her excitedly. "That's your name!" She yipped, licking his hand. "Naomi…" he breathed, fondling her ears in what was quickly becoming a harshly ingrained habit.

**_Naomi? How the heck is that any better than Nadeem? _**Mini Me fussed.

Damon chuckled. He slid the pack onto his back once more and started moving again. **_Well for a start it's actually a girl's name. Second, it has the same beginning vowel and consonant sounds as Nadeem, so hopefully there won't be as much confusion in the changeover. _**

**_ And what exactly _****is ****_the meaning?_** Mini Me asked, exasperated.

**_It means 'my joy, my delight'. If I remember correctly that is…_**

**_ How sappy… and how the heck do you even _****know****_ the meanings of these names! _**

Damon gave a short laugh. They were getting close to the outskirts of the main mass of the city, and on into the suburbs. It wasn't _as_ dangerous to make a little noise here. **_Mammaw had a book of names. I liked to go through all the different names and read the meanings, especially if I knew someone who had that name. Some of the meanings just stuck with me. _**

He walked in silence for some time, and they were entering the fringes of the trees before Mini Me interrupted his thoughts again.

**_Personally I think it's stupid to pay that vet. He should be grateful we let him live. But I know you'll disagree with me, and we'll argue about that later. But in the meantime, I just have one question. Exactly _****how****_ are you going to find that vet's house?_**

Damon grinned. Unafraid that anyone would hear him out here, he answered aloud. "Well you see, there's an age old practice amongst my people when they want to find someone. It's wrapped in mystery, and shrouded in legend. My Mamaw taught me how to do it…"

**_Really?_**

"Yep."

**_…you're not pulling my leg are you…? _**

"What leg?" Damon snickered. "I can't pull something that doesn't exist outside my own head….unless I imagined pulling your imaginary leg… that could work…"

**_…so what's this 'mysterious way' of locating people? _**

"A phone book."

Mini Me didn't cease his tirade the entire walk back to the shack. Damon counted every second, and the headache it caused, as _worth it._

* * *

Yeah...my family laughed themselves sick...

Review please!

Until next time...


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